Table tennis blade and method of use

ABSTRACT

A table tennis paddle including a blade and a handle has a handle structure that facilitates a grip with a natural inclination angle of about 45° and allows easy adjustment of inclination angle of a paddle blade to an incoming ball over a 0° to 90° range. A natural angle is the angle achieved when a player positions a paddle in the ball striking position without adjusting the angle of the paddle. A handle has a high aspect ratio A of width to thickness. For example, A≧2. A method of using a paddle is provided wherein widthwise ends of the handle abut selected portions of the surfaces between the thumb and the index finger in order to facilitate improved ability to select a forehand or backhand stroke and control motion of a ball struck by the paddle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present subject matter relates to a paddle for use in games using a tangible projectile, for example table tennis and to a method of use therefor.

2. Background

A table tennis blade is the foundation part of a table tennis paddle structure. It is essentially the paddle without the rubber sheets. A blade includes a face and a handle. The face of the blade is a thin and flat board formed most often from wood. Plywood is often used due to structural advantages that can be provided by a laminar construction. A face of the blade used to strike a ball is covered by a rubber sheet. A regulation cover comprises pimpled rubber. A handle is joined to the base. Generally the handle extends axially along an axis on or parallel to a plane in which the blade lies.

Initially, paddle structure was simple. In nineteenth century England, early blades consisted of cigar box tops. Paddle design has increased in complexity in order to accommodate user preferences and to provide the capability for improved play. Significant evolution has occurred in handle designs. Three types of handles predominate in terms of shape and dimension. The names of the predominant handle types correspond to the style in which a player grips the handle: the shakehand, the Chinese penhold, and the Japanese penhold.

The shakehand blade has the longest handle, which may take on three basic shapes: the flared, which has a narrow neck (the section of the handle close to the face of the blade) and widens toward an axial end; the straight, which has the same cross section throughout the handle from neck to end; and the anatomical, which has a bulging section around the axial middle of the handle. For each of these three shakehand varieties, the axial cross section of the handle takes an oblong shape, with its width slightly greater than the thickness. The Chinese penhold blade has a handle shorter than shakehand blade. Its handle takes a conical shape with a cross section similar to the shakehand blade. The Japanese penhold has a unique rectangular cross section that is much thicker than it is wide. A main axis of the handle is parallel and offset with respect to a plane of the face. This structure is achieved by making the handle thicker on one side of the blade than the other.

In today's table tennis game, the most effective and widely used attack stroke is the topspin drive, also known as the loop. To effectively execute this stroke, the paddle must be able to strike the incoming ball with an inclination angle in the range of near 0° to near 90°. The inclination angle is an angle between a surface of the paddle which strikes a ball and a horizontal plane at moment of impact. The near 90° angle is used by a player to counter heavy under spin incoming balls, while the near 0° angle is used to counter heavy top spin balls approaching on the rise. Optimally, a player would want to achieve a natural inclination angle in the middle of this range, namely, at 45°. A natural inclination angle is the angle achieved when a player positions the paddle in the ball striking position without consciously thinking about or adjusting the angle of the paddle. This is also the angle from which the player can decrease or increase the inclination angle with equal ease. The player would be enabled to approach near 0° or near 90° from that position with most flexibility and minimal physical demand. Prior art penhold handle design does not facilitate a natural inclination angle of 45°.

The shakehand grip may be used for both forehand and backhand strokes over the 0° to 90° range. It facilitates a natural inclination angle close to 45°. Consistent topspin play from both sides may be achieved. The disadvantage of the shakehand grip is that it affords a relatively less powerful forehand topspin shot.

The penhold grip's advantage is that it allows the most powerful forehand top spin strokes for a given amount of effort by a player. The penhold grip extends the paddle further out from a player's hand. A whip like motion may be executed by a player within a forehand topspin stroke. Since the development of the Reverse Penhold Back Hand (RPBH) grip, the penhold has been useful for executing a backhand stroke. Previously, the penhold grip's utility as a backhand stroke was limited to a move known as a block, a weak backhand stroke essentially limited to defensive plays. The penhold grip has a disadvantage in that for both the forehand and the RPBH, the neutral grip position does not produce a natural paddle inclination angle of near 45°. For the forehand side, the penhold natural paddle inclination angle is near 90°. For the RPBH, this is near 0°. The backhand side limitation is particularly severe. This has made the RPBH a much more difficult shot to master. Also, the forehand topspin stroke requires more adjustment of the wrist and arm angles for the penhold player to achieve the required paddle inclination angle than for shakehand grip.

In the traditional penhold grip, the neck of the blade handle is cradled between the proximal phalanges of the thumb and index finger. One side in a degree of freedom normal to the handle axis is constrained by the thumb proximal phalanx, and the other side is constrained by the index finger proximal phalanx. The back of the handle rests on the soft tissue between the metacarpal-phalangeal joints of the thumb and the index finger. The middle, ring, and little fingers are spread out on a reverse side of the blade face to provide support. Finally, the thumb and the index finger's distal phalanges are curled across the top blade face to form a secure and complete grip.

For a traditional Chinese penhold blade, the width of the handle near the neck is generally between 28 mm and 32 mm. This dimension is limited by human anatomy. The average distance between the thumb and the index finger near the metacarpal-phalangeal joints for men and women combined is about 29 mm. This distance may be slightly larger if the skin tissue is compressed. Any blade that has the handle width near the neck greater than 32 mm will become uncomfortable to hold using the traditional penhold grip for the general population. In the Japanese penhold blade, the widths of the handles are typically much narrower than 30 mm. To date, no known penhold blade has handle width at the neck exceeding 35 mm due to above-described human anatomy limitations. Even for the shakehand blades, there are no known examples of blade handle with width exceeding 35 mm at the neck.

There had been numerous attempts at improving the table tennis blade handle. The early attempts dated back to 1902. These include U.S. Pat. Nos. 703,519; 703,911; 1,961,473; 1,986,154; 2,156,477; 2,293,312; and 2,640,698.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,101 discloses a pistol grip like handle with closed ends. Publications such as CN 201299948Y and CN 201033237Y disclose a handle whose centerline does not intersect the ball striking sweet spot on the blade face. In other words, these handles are offset from the blades. Such handles may give a “comfortable” grip, but all suffer from not facilitating the most powerful shots.

There are two reasons for this. First, during the beginning of a swing before striking a ball, the offset blade face will produce a twisting force on the grip thus forcing the player to divert his attention to tighten the grip. This effect reduces the blade speed a player can otherwise generate, hence limiting the power production. Second, when striking the ball, the contact point of a ball on the offset blade sweet spot will also produce a rotation moment around the handle's centerline. This will both reduce the momentum transfer from the blade to the ball, thus resulting in a less powerful shot; and cause the blade angle to change, thus reducing the consistency of the shot. For these reasons, none of the pistol grip like handles has gained any ground on the traditional shakehand and penhold grips.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,969,329 discloses a blade designed to facilitate a penhold like grip capable of both forehand and backhand topspin offensive shots. A second handle is added to the blade at the back face. This design has not gained acceptance for two reasons. First, the addition of the second handle increases manufacturing complexity. Second, the additional handle is awkward to grip, and will need to be oriented at different angles to match player preferences. This further limits its appeal to current penhold players and its adoption for mass production.

Difficulties have remained even though the “Laws” of the national and international table tennis governing bodies allow great latitude in the design of regulation paddles. Law 2.4.1 of the United States Table Tennis Federation provides that, “The racket may be of any size, shape or weight but the blade shall be flat and rigid.” It is highly desirable to provide a racket which facilitates improved performance of a player.

SUMMARY

The present subject matter meets the need for an improved blade with a handle that allows a penhold player to execute top spin offensive shots from both sides more consistently while retaining the power inherently offered by the penhold grip for the forehand side.

Briefly stated in accordance with the present subject matter, a paddle is provided including a blade and a handle having a structure that is shaped so that when grasped by a user the face tends to be disposed for successful return of a ball, readily adjustable from a natural initial inclination angle of about 45° to cover the full range of 0° to 90°. This structure facilitates a strong offensive topspin shot for both forehand and backhand stroke, is easy for a penhold player to adjust to, and is easily mass produced using existing blade manufacturing setups. In one form, the handle is unitary with the blade. In other forms, handle covers may be affixed.

A natural inclination angle is the inclination angle achieved when a player positions the paddle in the ball striking position without consciously thinking about or adjusting the angle of the paddle. In order to facilitate most consistent topspin play, the structure of the handle of the paddle must facilitate a grip with a natural inclination angle of about 45° and allow easy angular adjustment by a player to cover the full 0° to 90° range. This is typically the middle position within the easily achievable inclination angle range limited by average human physique. The present subject matter includes a structure that facilitates a natural inclination angle of about 45°.

A handle has an aspect ratio A of width to thickness. In accordance with the present subject matter, the aspect ratio A is exaggerated in comparison to prior art handles. For example, A≧2. This structure necessarily results in the handle being capable of fitting in a user's hand to provide an optimal natural inclination angle.

The present subject matter further provides a method of using a paddle including the handle wherein ends of the handle abut selected portions of the surfaces between the thumb and the index finger in order to facilitate improved ability to select a forehand or backhand stroke and control motion of a ball struck by the paddle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present subject matter may be further understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the following drawings:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are respectively a plan view, partially broken away, and a cross-sectional elevation of a paddle;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the anatomy of a user's hand and arm, partially broken away;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a prior art paddle held by a player in a penhold for executing a forehand stroke;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a paddle embodying the present subject matter held by a player in a penhold for executing a forehand stroke;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a prior art paddle held by a player in a penhold for executing a backhand stroke;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a paddle embodying the present subject matter held by a player in a penhold for executing a backhand stroke;

FIG. 8 is a cross section of a handle of a further embodiment;

FIG. 9 is an elevation of embodiments in which the handle is asymmetrical with respect to the blade;

FIG. 10 is a cross section of a handle of a further embodiment in a handle cover contour that includes a straight portion;

FIG. 11 is a cross section of a handle of another embodiment including convex curve as part of a handle cover contour;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a further embodiment including axial slots in a handle for weight reduction;

FIG. 13 is a cross section of a handle in yet another alternative embodiment, in which handle covers are fixed to opposite ends of a blade rather than to opposite surfaces; and

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate modifications to the embodiments of FIGS. 10 and 11 respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present subject matter relates in part to the interaction of specific components integrated within the structure of a table tennis, or ping-pong, paddle. “Paddle” is preferred in the United States. The term generally preferred in Europe is “bat,” while the International Table Tennis Federation rules refer to a racket. For reference purposes, the direction in which the handle extends from a butt end to the face is referred to as axial. The direction normal to the axial direction and defining the extent of the blade along the face of the blade is referred to as transverse. The direction normal to the axial direction and extending through the thickness of the blade is referred to as longitudinal. These terms are used to describe relative spatial relationships. They do not have independent significance.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are respectively a plan view, partially broken away, and a cross-sectional elevation of a paddle 1 constructed in accordance with the present subject matter. In order to provide a more explicit contrast, prior art paddles are discussed further with respect to FIGS. 4 and 6 below. The cross-section of FIG. 2 is taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

In the present illustration, the paddle 1 comprises a blade 5. The blade 5 includes a front face 7, a rear face 8, and a handle base 9, which are unitary within the blade 5. The blade 5 defines a plane. It is not necessary that the blade 5 and the handle base 9 be unitary. A front rubber cover 11 and a rear rubber cover 13 are fixed to the front and rear faces 7 and 8 respectively. The blade face has a width 22 and a length 24.

As seen in FIG. 2, the cross section of the handle taken at a neck, the handle base 9 comprises first and second longitudinally opposite blade faces 9 a and 9 b further having first and second transversely opposite sides 9 c and 9 d. The handle base 9 forms a middle layer of a handle 15 and extends in an axial direction along an axis 16. The handle 15 has a neck 10. The neck 10 is what a portion of a player's hand wraps around when using a penhold grip. The neck 10 may be viewed as the area in the vicinity of a line joining opposite transverse sides of the handle 15 at their intersection with the outline of the blade 5.

The handle 15 in other embodiments could be the handle base 9 without further components. The handle 15 in the present illustration further comprises a front handle cover 17 and a back handle cover 19. The handle base 9 comprises a substrate for the front and back handle covers 17 and 19. At an axial end of each handle over the blade 15, i.e., a top end of the handle covers, a slanted flat surface 12 is formed to allow comfortable grip. With the paddle 1 oriented as shown in FIG. 2 with the front handle cover 17 above the handle base 9, the right side of the handle 15's edge is the index finger edge 21. The left side of the handle's edge is the thumb edge 23. These descriptive terms describe spatial relationships for a right-handed player rather than structural limitations within the paddle 1. For a left-handed player, the names of the edges 21 and 23 would be reversed.

The thickness dimension 25 is the thickness of the handle at the neck 10. The thickness 25 extends in a longitudinal direction along a minor axis 26. The width dimension 27 is the width of the handle at the neck 10. The width 27 extends in the transverse direction along a major axis 28. The minor and major axes 26 and 28 are orthogonal.

In accordance with one aspect of the present subject matter, qualitatively stated, the handle 15 is wide and thin. The relationship of thickness to width, i.e., handle width 27 divided by the thickness 25 is, for purposes of the present description, called an aspect ratio A. In accordance with the present subject matter, it has been found that an aspect ratio of A≧2 is materially superior to the prior art. In one illustrative embodiment, the handle width 27 is 57 mm and thickness 25 is 17 mm. This produces an aspect ratio A of larger than 3, namely 3.4. To match a wider range of human hands, such as young players with small hands or players with larger than average hands, the width of the handle could be made in the range of 40 mm to 90 mm. Maintaining an aspect ratio of A=2, a range of thickness would be 20 mm to 45 mm. Maintaining an aspect ratio of A=3, a range of thickness would be 13 mm to 30 mm. For the handles with width towards the 40 mm range, a lower aspect ratio, for example A=2.5, may be used so the handle 15 would not be overly thin. Similarly, for handles with width towards the 90 mm range, a greater aspect ratio, for example A=4 may be used so the handle 15 would not become overly thick and heavy. In accordance with the present subject matter, it has been found that an aspect ratio of A≧3 has particular utility. This aspect ratio provides for a handle shape conducive to a superior grip for a large segment of the user population.

Typical prior art blades have handles with width at the neck 10 much less than 35 mm, and aspect ratio well below 2 (usually 1.5 or less). Use of a blade design according to the present subject matter initially appears to be anti-intuitive. A wide handle does not facilitate a traditional penhold grip. A new gripping method is provided in accordance with the present subject matter.

In the present illustrative embodiment, a handle width 27 of 57 mm is selected to match average human hand dimensions. For an average human hand, the distance between the proximal-intermediate phalangeal joint 54 (shown in FIG. 3) of the index finger to the lowest part of the tissue joining the index finger and thumb is about 60 mm. The present blade handle width is chosen to facilitate a re-orientation of the blade in the players hand to produce an optimal inclination angle, as described below. To match a wider range of human hands, such as young players with small hands or players with larger than average hands, the width of the handle could be made in the range of 40 mm to 90 mm. Therefore, in accordance with one form of the present subject matter, the width 27 is selected to be 40 to 90 mm.

The traditional penhold grip produces an undesirable natural inclination angle for both the forehand and the RPBH positions with prior art handles. This is a result of the operational inconsistencies of human hand anatomy and the traditional handle design. In accordance with the present subject matter, a handle is constructed to work in concert with the human anatomy to manipulate a paddle. The new construction facilitates a new method of gripping a handle. Doing so maintains all the advantages of the traditional penhold grip, improves the forehand offensive shot, and makes the RPBH offensive shots easier to execute and more powerful as well as more consistent.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of the anatomy of a user's hand 40, wrist 41, and arm 42, partially broken away. Components of FIG. 3 are further referred within the discussions of FIGS. 4-7. Hand portions referred to but which do not appear in FIGS. 4-7 are illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a prior art paddle held by a player in a penhold for executing a forehand offensive top spin shot. This perspective view is taken from the left side of a right hand player. Because of the relatively narrow width of the handle, the most stable grasping position is to rest the thumb edge of a handle 71 on the thumb proximal phalanx 45 and to rest the index edge of the handle 75 on the index proximal phalanx 51. Thus in the forehand ball contact position of an offensive shot, the natural hand posture will put the blade face at an inclination angle α of approximately 90°.

In accordance with the present subject matter, a new method is provided of gripping a blade in a penhold grip. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a paddle embodying the present subject matter held by a player in a penhold for executing a forehand stroke.

For the present blade with its wide handle, the most stable grasp requires the handle's thumb edge 23 be set deeply into the soft tissue area 82 between the metacarpal-phalangeal joint 48 of the thumb 43 and the metacarpal-phalangeal joint 60 of the index finger 50. The width of the handle is chosen to complement this new grip such that the index finger can hook across the handle's index edge 21 diagonally, so the under sides of the distal phalanx 53 and/or intermediate phalanx 52 holds the handle's edge. In addition, the thumb is placed on the slanted front section 12 of the top handle face, preventing the blade from sliding out of the grasp. The middle finger 61, ring finger 62, and little finger 63 are placed behind the blade similarly to the traditional penhold grip. This new gripping position effectively rotated the blade approximately 45° forward in the players hand, thus forming a new blade face inclination angle α′ of about 45° for a natural hand posture at the ball contact position. Because the handle's wide back cover makes full contact with the index finger side of the hand, the blade is extremely stable in the players hand; it cannot rotate in the player's hand.

When using a traditional penhold handle and grip, to execute a forehand offensive topspin shot against all incoming ball spin types, the player must adjust both the wrist position and the arm motion. Substantial wrist bending may be required to achieve the necessary blade face inclination angle range of 0 to 90°. This wrist bending is a complex technique to master. In contrast, when using the presently disclosed new handle and the associate grip, a player can maintain the same wrist position, varying only the positioning of the arm 42 in a shot to cover all incoming ball spin types. For countering heavy top spin incoming balls, the player simply adjusts the arm motion to swing the blade in a near horizontal trajectory. For countering heavy under spin incoming balls, the player simply adjusts the arm motion to swing the blade in a nearly vertical trajectory. For any other spin, the player adjusts the arm position to swing the blade in a trajectory in between the two extremes, all while keeping the wrist at the most natural and fixed angle. This makes the forehand top spin shot a much simpler shot to master while not losing any of its power. Further, allowing the player to maintain nearly the same wrist position for all shots makes it possible for the player to use more of the forearm motion via the closing of the elbow joint to increase the blade speed to add spin and velocity to the returning shots, thus creating more powerful shots.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a prior art paddle held by a player in a traditional penhold grip on the backhand side, at a typical ball contact position during a PRBH offensive top spin shot. This perspective view is taken from the right side of a right hand player. Similar to the forehand case, because of the relatively narrow width of the handle, the most stable grasping position is to rest the thumb edge of the handle 71 on the thumb proximal phalanx 45 and to rest the index edge of the handle 75 on the index proximal phalanx 51. Thus in the backhand ball contact position in an offensive shot, the natural hand posture will put the blade rear face at an inclination angle β of near 0°. In order to put the blade face at proper angle of nominally 45° for executing offensive PRBH shots against balls that bounce beyond the end of the table, the player must bend the wrist substantially for the shots. For an incoming under spin ball that would not bounce beyond the end of the table, to execute a strong offensive PRBH shot will require the player to increase the inclination to an angle beyond 45°. The player thus must bend the wrist 41 more extensively in addition to having to engage in excessive elbow extension. Very few players are capable of such a shot even at a world class level due to this severe posture demand.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a paddle embodying the present subject matter held by a player in a penhold grip for executing a backhand stroke. A dramatic improvement is provided in that the backhand grip is exactly the same as for the forehand side. Viewed in the backhand position, the blade handle's thumb edge 23 is set deeply into the soft tissue area 102 between the metacarpal-phalangeal joint 48 of the thumb 43 and the metacarpal-phalangeal joint 60 of the index finger 50. The index finger hooks across the index edge 21 diagonally, such that the under sides of the distal phalanx (not shown) and/or intermediate phalanx 52 holds the handle's edge. In addition, the thumb is placed on the slanted front section 12 (shown on FIG. 1) of the top handle face, preventing the blade from sliding out of the grasp. The middle finger 61, ring finger 62, and little finger 63 are placed behind the blade similarly to traditional penhold grip. This new gripping position effectively rotates the blade approximately 45° backwards in the player's hand when compared to the traditional penhold grip, thus forming a new blade face inclination angle β′ of about 45° for a natural hand posture at the ball contact position.

When using the traditional penhold handle and grip, to execute PHRB offensive topspin shot against all incoming ball spin types that bounce beyond the table's end edge, the player must bend the wrist 41 in order to “open up” (i.e., rotate backward) the blade's rear face. For countering under spin balls that do not bounce beyond the table's end edge, the player must bend the wrist even further, to beyond the normal range for average people, in order to produce the most effective top spin return. This makes such a shot a highly difficult technique to master using traditional penhold blades.

In contrast, when using the presently disclosed blade and the associate grip, a player can keep the wrist at the most natural position to execute PRBH top spin returns against any type of balls outside the table. Just like for the forehand side, keeping the wrist at its natural posture and adjusting the arm movement is sufficient to deal with all spin types on the incoming ball. Against heavy top spin incoming balls, the player simply adjusts the arm motion to swing the blade in a near horizontal trajectory. Against heavy under spin incoming balls, the player simply adjusts the arm motion to swing the blade in a nearly vertical trajectory. For other spins in between, the player adjusts the arm motion to swing the blade in a trajectory in between these two extremes. For advance players, addition of wrist motion within the average human's capability will allow for greater variation of spin and speed of a return shot, as well as producing effective top spin returns from within the table. Thus, use of the present blade allows for both easier and more effective PRBH top spin shots.

It should be emphasized that the backhand grip for the newly disclosed blade described here is exactly the same as the forehand grip described earlier. The new handle with its ultra wide dimensions force a single stable position within the grip. This facilitates consistent shot production. By design, this same grip is also optimal for both forehand and PRBH offensive shots due to the perfect inclination angle it provides for either case.

It should be further noted that once adjusted for the wide handle, the new grip is similar to the traditional penhold grip. This will make it very easy for a player using traditional penhold blades to switch over to the present blade.

One alternative embodiment is a handle with a cross section shown in FIG. 8. Here the edges of the handle feature a recessed center portion 111, so that slots along the edges are formed. Because the present subject matter dictates a thin handle, forming a slot the width equivalent to the thickness of the blade greatly reduces the handles contact area to the player's hand at the edges. This increases the pressure at the concentrated contact points, and provides a more secure grip to prevent the handle from sliding in the player's hand. This is particularly effective for a sweaty hand. The higher press at the contacting points helps to expel the sweat between the skin and the handle, and the recessed areas provide faster evaporation of perspiration.

Additional alternative embodiments are shown in FIG. 9. In these embodiments, the handle is offset from the blade. In one embodiment, different thicknesses are employed for the front handle cover 17 and back handle cover 19 to affect this offset. In other embodiments, the handle substrate 9 forms the back of the handle.

Yet another alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. In this embodiment, instead of a convex surface at the center portion of the handle cover, a flat surface 113 of FIG. 10 or concave surface 115 of FIG. 11 may be featured. In a penhold grip using the newly invented wide handle, the center portion of the back handle cover is in solid contact against the index finger metacarpal-phalangeal joint 60. The flat or concave handle surface could provide a more fitting interface to the hand surface at the metacarpal-phalangeal joint of the index finger so any pressure point is eliminated. This will improve the comfort of holding the blade, especially over extended play.

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment. With the wide handle on the present blade, the weight of the blade will increase. This increase is slight, because although the handle is much wider than the traditional blades, it is also thinner than traditional blades. However, because the player's hand will contact the front and back of the present blade handle with minimal pressure due to the width, slots 117 can be cut on those surfaces without causing undue comfort to the player when he/she grasps the handle. Depending on the amount of weight reduction required, these slots may be cut through the handle or simply to an appropriate depth to removed desired weight. Also, these slots may be cut across the handle transversely (or at any angle) instead of along the handle as shown.

FIG. 13 shows yet another embodiment. Here, instead of front and lower covers over the middle layer 15, the handle is formed with two edges 119 attached to the middle layer 15 of the handle. This design will greatly reduce the handles weight. It would be suitable for shakehand blade application when the player wishes a thick edge.

The handle covers can be further shaped to accommodate individual player preferences. In particular, the covers can be made such that the resulting handle cross section is asymmetric. FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate modifications to the embodiments of FIGS. 10 and 11 respectively. FIG. 14 depicts a shape with thicker thumb edge 23 (FIGS. 1 and 2) provided by the flared edges 121. In this embodiment, the handle is asymmetric about the minor axis, but symmetric about the major axis. In this case, the thicker thumb edge 23 is designed to provide additional support for the thumb for either left handed or right handed players. In FIG. 15, the thumb support is provided only on one handle cover 123, thus resulting in a cross section that is asymmetric about both the major and minor axis.

A number of advantages of the present blade are provided as a direct result of the structure of the blade. The present blade allows a natural blade face inclination angle at ball striking positions that is optimal for both forehand and RPBH top spin offensive shots. In allowing for a natural paddle inclination angle of near 45°, the present blade ensures optimal blade positioning in the player's hand for executing an offensive RPBH shot against incoming balls either within or beyond the table's end line. Additionally, no adjustment in the grip is required when switching from forehand to backhand for top spin offensive shots and vice versa, nor for balls within or beyond the table's end line.

The wide handle ensures the main grasping finger, the index finger, is well extended so that the handle's back cover surface makes wide contact with the side of the hand along the index finger. This constrains the handle and the blade to an essentially fixed relative position to the grasping hand, thus producing a consistent grip. The wide handle results in a well extended index finger to provide high leverage to grasp the handle requiring minimal force for a secure grip. The thin handle allows the thumb to comfortably wrap around the top of the handle cover to provide further security in the grip.

The present blade can also be used for shakehand application. Because of the wide handle, it forces the grasping fingers into a more extended position, thus providing greater leverage for the grasping fingers and allows a relaxed grip on the handle. The alternative embodiment with slotted edges is particularly effective for shakehand players who have sweaty hands. The wide handle also ensures a consistent blade orientation within the player's hand, thus facilitating more consistent shot production.

The high aspect ratio A of the handle facilitates a new and superior penhold grip. This new blade handle and grip combination retains the advantages of the traditional penhold grip. However, the ability is also provided to more easily produce consistent forehand and backhand offensive shots for penhold players from all positions, whether within or beyond the table end line. The advantage is particularly great for executing PRBH offensive shots of all types because the stroke motion for executing such shots is completely natural, without the need to hyper-bend the wrist.

The handle blade makes an excellent blade for new table tennis players. It is excellent also for improving the playing capabilities of all penhold players who employ offensive attack from both sides. Furthermore, the present blade has additional advantages in that it permits a more secure grip. When the player employs the present method of using the paddle, the paddle structure permits only one blade orientation within the grip which also corresponds to the optimal blade face angle. Additionally, the grip according to the present method permits exactly the same grip for both forehand and backhand offensive strokes. It also permits quick adaptation by players already using a penhold grip.

The present subject matter is also advantageous in traditional blade production methods and apparatus can be easily adapted to manufacture this new blade.

The present blade is also suitable for shakehand grip application. Increasing the width of the handle makes it a more secure grip for shakehand players. The large aspect ratio of the handle makes it much easier to control the orientation of the blade in the hand.

Although the description above contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments. For example, the handle may assume a trapezoidal, rather than the straight over all shape; curvatures of the handles faces may contain other combinations of convex, straight, and/or concave sections than was disclosed in the alternative embodiment; the handle may be formed purely from the handle substrate without handle covers; etc.

Thus, the scope of the embodiment should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given. 

1. In a table tennis blade comprising a blade and a handle, the improvement wherein said handle has an aspect ratio ≧2.
 2. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein said handle comprises a substrate extending in a longitudinal direction having first and second longitudinally opposite substrate faces and further having first and second transversely opposite sides.
 3. The improvement according to claim 2 further comprising first and second handle covers affixed to said substrate.
 4. The improvement according to claim 3 wherein said first and second handle covers are affixed to first and second longitudinally opposite substrate faces of said substrate respectively.
 5. The improvement according to claim 4 wherein each of said first and second handle covers is of a different thickness.
 6. The improvement according to claim 4 in which said handle covers comprise a plurality of flat and curved surfaces.
 7. The improvement according to claim 4 wherein each said handle cover comprises a plurality of axially extending recesses.
 8. The improvement according to claim 4 wherein said first and second handle covers are fixed to said first and second transversely opposite sides respectively.
 9. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein said blade has a face, said face has a width of 170 mm or less and a length of 180 mm or less.
 10. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein said handle has a neck and said neck has a width of 40 mm to 90 mm.
 11. The improvement according to claim 1 wherein said handle has an aspect ratio ≧3.
 12. A table tennis paddle comprising a blade defining a plane, a handle extending along an axial direction axis, the handle having width on a major axis parallel or coincident with the plane of the blade and a thickness along a minor axis normal to the major axis and the axial axis, the ratio of the dimension of the handle along the major axis to the dimension of the handle along the minor axis being at least 2:1.
 13. The paddle according to claim 12 wherein said handle comprises a handle base coplanar with the blade and first and second covers on opposite sides of the handle base along the major axis.
 14. The paddle according to claim 13 wherein said first and second handle covers have differing thicknesses.
 15. The paddle according to claim 13 wherein said handles have an arcuate surface in a transverse direction.
 16. The paddle according to claim 12 wherein said paddle has a face, said face has a width of 170 mm or less and a length of 180 mm or less.
 17. The paddle according to claim 12 wherein said handle comprises a handle base coplanar with the blade and first and second covers on opposite sides of the handle base along the major axis.
 18. The paddle according to claim 12 wherein a width of the handle at its neck is 40 mm to 90 mm.
 19. The paddle according to claim 12 wherein the ratio of the dimension of the handle along the major axis to the dimension of the handle along the minor axis is at least 3:1.
 20. A method of employing a table tennis paddle comprising; grasping the paddle between a thumb and an index finger, setting a transverse edge of a handle into a soft tissue area between the metacarpal-phalangeal joint of the thumb and the metacarpal-phalangeal joint of the index finger, hooking an index finger diagonally across a transversely opposite edge, whereby the under sides of the distal phalanx and/or intermediate phalanx holds the handle's edge, placing the thumb at an axial end of a top handle face, and placing middle, ring, and little fingers to a back of the paddle as in a penhold grip. 